Build Shit - DIY - What's On Your Bench?

[FAP]

I've been mostly busy with work since I last posted; I am seriously considering doing a small run of the feedback/killswitch pedal sometime in the future, however I need time to amass enough funds to justify such an endeavor and, ideally, to re[de]fine the design.

In the mean time, it occurred to me recently that I didn't have a portable amp to test stuff out on the go (e.g. pedals bought from randos on craigslist), so I whipped this up from a recycled computer speaker in about two hours:

Very simple schematic and highly recommended:

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[crochambeau]

Not exactly on my bench yet, but this circuit board is the culmination of about two weeks of work and is now delivered to the fab house for production.

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[FAP]

Jesus that’s a lot of ICs. Where do you get your boards fabricated at? Also, what program are you using to layout your boards?

[crochambeau]

Jesus that’s a lot of ICs. Where do you get your boards fabricated at? Also, what program are you using to layout your boards?

Eight of those are DIP switches in an IC footprint, so, only 31 ICs (haha). A lot of it is iterated stages, there are basically eight of everything as it's an 8x8 matrix switch with a bunch of features (an application driving a lot of the groundwork is being able to initiate state changes every time I pluck a string on a guitar).

For cheap I go with JLCpcb, for quality I go with OSHpark.

I'm using KiCad for schematic & PCB drafting, it does not hold your hand as much as some other software packages - but it also does not come with scaling restraints to push you into financially subscribing/etc. Open source software coupled with localized storage for the win.

[crochambeau]

I'll clarify my costs on this one:

Going with JLCpcb I ordered both a two layer version (pretty much what you see pictured, and a four layer version in which one center layer is copper pour connected to vcom ("ground"/enclosure shielding direct connection) and the other inner layer is connected to vss (the ground return path for all of the switching and logic). The PCB is 182x151 mm, or roughly 7x6 inches, and size impacts cost...

Five 2 layer boards with JLC = $14.30 (plus shipping, which was like $30 for the entire order)
Five 4 layer boards with JLC = $36.80 (plus shipping, which was like $30 for the entire order)
Three 2 layer boards with OSH = $212.95 (shipped) - I can opt in on a medium run with two layer boards which brings the cost per square inch down to $1, but in board increments of ten, so that line would cost aroun $420 shipped..
Three 4 layer boards with OSH = $425.90 (shipped) - I can opt in on slower production and bring that down to $255.54 for three shipped in like two weeks.

This is kind of an extreme case example, it's entirely possible to make that gap narrower with smaller designs, and using the OSH site is absolutely dreamy compared to JLC (which timed out on me when I went to check my shipping cost, so that's just a rough guess.

Anyway, I hope this helps!

[Indeterminacy]

...........is being able to initiate state changes every time I pluck a string on a guitar for the win.

Fixed.

[crochambeau]

...........is being able to initiate state changes every time I pluck a string on a guitar for the win.

Fixed.

Hahaha, thanks. Shipping notification rolled in yesterday, time will tell if this is an actual win or not. Here's hoping..

[crochambeau]

I've made it this far, "road testing" begins shortly.

Turns out most of the controls are practically useless, so I'm tucking them into the oversized enclosure for the moment.

[FAP]

You roll your own enclosures from sheet metal, right?

[crochambeau]

You roll your own enclosures from sheet metal, right?

Yes. This particular one is bigger than my brake is designed to handle (because of the 2 inch side wall, the brake is good for 1.5 inch and has a 24 inch width), and the gauge of material I have on hand is probably a bit flimsy for the 8x10 span on this...

..but yeah, I fold my own enclosures, makes it easier to do unhinged shit that would never fit inside of a Hammond 125B or whatever. Being steel I also stick it to my pedal board with magnets, and intend on planting pedals on top of this so it's not in the way.